The environmental policy gradually takes on an increasing space on the agenda of the European union's policy and imposes itself as a key prerequisite for its long-term sustainable economic growth. However, environmental policy can only be meaningful as part of a wider policy framework, so it is necessary to integrate the core settings of this policy in other sectoral areas. A key component of environmental policy is a waste management system based on the concept of a circular economy. Implementation of the waste management system based on the concept of circular economy in the member states is problematic due to very different national approaches to waste, deriving from different degrees of economic development of individual members. The benefits of the waste management system based on the concept of circular economy for economic growth are still insufficiently recognized, especially among new member states, including Croatia. By analysing key strategic and implementation documents for waste management, it was confirmed that the key problem of Croatian waste management system is the absence of a clear vision of planning or construction of such a system, since the concept of the circular economy is only beginning to be introduced. Apart from the incompatibility of strategic and implementation documents, the improvement of the implementation of waste management policy will burden insufficient national budget funds for waste infrastructure construction as well as the still high level of fiscal and administrative centralization of Croatian self-government units.